1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a decorative plastic trim strip and, in particular, to a plastic trim strip for a vehicle such as an automobile, comprising a reinforcing layer made of stainless steel or stainless bimetal, as a base component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of plastic trim strips are used to decorate furniture, for example, edges of the furniture. These trim strips are usually made of transparent plastics, such as cellulose acetate or polyvinyl choloride, and a decorative material made of nonferrous matal leaf, such as aluminum foil, which is embedded in or put on the transparent plastics. As a decorative material, a decorative plastic film is also used, to which a metal, such as aluminum, is applied and which is embedded in or put on the transparent plastics. The trim strips as mentioned above are light, since the decorative member is made of a nonferrous metal, and, accordingly, they can be advantageously used to decorate furniture or the like. Furthermore, the nonferrous metal leaf can be advantageously used to provide a glossy surface on the trim. However, when such a nonferrous metal leaf is used for a decorative trim for an automobile such as a roof drip trim, a trunk trim, or a window trim, it presents an insufficient rigidity.
For example, a roof drip trim of an automobile usually has a substantially C-shaped opening in which a channelled member of a roof of a vehicle body is fitted. However, when the roof drip trim is mounted to the vehicle body, the fit tends to become loose because of the small rigidity of the trim, so that the displacement of the trim relative to the vehicle body occurs or the trim easily comes out of the channelled member even when the trim is subject to a small impact or shock.
It is therefore very important to increase the rigidity of such a decorative trim for an automobile.
In order to increase the rigidity of a decorative trim, according to the present invention, the trim includes a reinforcing layer made of stainless steel or stainless bimetal.
It should be noted here that it is very difficult to adhere ferrous metal, such as stainless steel, to transparent plastics, and, particularly, to cellulosic plastics which is usually used to make decorative trim for automobiles.
Therefore, consideration has to be directed also to the solution of the difficulty of the adhesion of the reinforcing layer to the plastic body of the trim.